It's Only Forever
by Sarcastic Taurus
Summary: When Cassy's little sister, Sophie, wishes their half brother away, Cassy takes it upon herself to face the dangers of the Labyrinth to get him back. Unfortunately for her, the Labyrinth has changed since Sarah saved her brother and a certain Goblin King is determined not to lose again.
1. Chapter 1: I wish

A/N: I do not own Jim Henson's _The Labyrinth_ (no matter how much I wish I did) nor do I own the picture. Enjoy! Please comment!

Cassy's outfit: cassy/set?id=18...

Sophie's outfit: sophie/set?id=18...

"Through dangers untold, and hardships unnumbered," My little sister, Sophie, said in unison with the movie.

It was about 9:00 on a Saturday night, but instead of going out with friends or a boyfriend, (as if I had either), I was staying at home, babysitting my 12 year old sister and my 2 year old brother, Milo. I didn't really mind. Milo had fallen asleep about an hour ago and Sophie and I had put in Jim Henson's _The Labyrinth,_ a movie we both loved...maybe a bit too much... We both had a small obsession with the movie. We always dressed up when we watched it, and I had memorized every line (Sophie was still working on it). I'd even learned contact juggling with some clear glass orbs I'd found at an antique shop.  
Ok...so the obsession wasn't exactly small, but _The Labyrinth_ reminded us of Dad and the way things used to be. Four years ago, Daddy was killed in a car accident. Two years ago, Mom remarried and had Milo. Six months ago, Adam, Mom's new husband, had packed p our family and moved us half way across the country, from Colorado to California. Hence why there were no friends or boyfriend to worry about. I was 17, so I only had to wait a year to move out, so the move hadn't really bothered me. Sophie, however, who still had to wait six years, was hit a lot harder. She blamed Adam for the move. He'd move us because he'd wanted Milo to grow up in the town where he was raised, so Sophie also blamed Milo. It wasn't her fault. For ten years she'd been the didn't know what it was like to be a big sister. Needless to say, she didn't like it when she found out. The lights flickered when a loud clap of thunder sounded and rain began streaming down the windows.  
"Just Fear me. Love me. Do as I say, and I will be your slave." Jareth begged on the TV.

"...Kingdom as great...You have no..." Sarah said, but was drowned out by Milo crying upstairs.

"Really?!" Sophie exclaimed in frustration and shot up from the couch. "That's my favorite part!"

She stormed out of the living room and upstairs, toward the nursery. I sighed and clicked off the TV.I followed her upstairs, not surprised to see her yelling at the crying baby.

"You just have to ruin everything, don't you?!" She shouted, making Milo cry more, "It's your fault! It's all your fault! This family was fine before you and your stupid dad came along!"

"Sophie!" I scolded her, picking up Milo,"How could you say that? He's just a baby!"

"A baby we're better off without!" The thunder rumbled again, "As a matter of fact..."

Sophie took Milo from me and held him out in front of her. I looked from her angry face to Milo's crying one. What was she doing ...?

"I wish the goblins would come take you away right now!"

"Sophie!" I yelled at her, taking Milo back and laying him down in the crib.

I took her by the arm and dragged her out into the hall, closing the nursery door behind me. I wasn't mad because I thought it wold would work. I was furious because she had the nerve to say the words, and with such conviction.

"Sophie, for God's sake! He's two! Its not his fault the storm scared him and you yelling like that is only making things worse! Honestly, do you think I was happy when you came along? No! But I _never_ tried o wish you away because you're my little sister. And like it or not, Milo is or little brother."

"Cassy..." Sophie whimpered wide eyed, "I didn't..."

"I know you didn't mean anything by it, but seriously! How do you think Mom would feel if one of us just disappeared? She'd be devastated!" I sighed, "And we're 17 and 12. He's only two! She'd... Lord knows what she'd be, but she wouldn't be happy."  
Thunder sounded, and the lights flickered again. The whole house seemed eerily...quiet...no crib creaking, no crying...Just...silence.

"Milo...?" Sophie whispered.

Nothing. I glanced at her with a worried look. I ran back into the nursery and to Milo's crib. To my horror, he was gone.

"Sophie...What have you done?"

A/N: If you've seen _The Labyrinth,_ you know who's making an appearance in the next chapter. I hope you enjoyed the first chapter. Please let my know what you think. Both good and bad opinions are welcome. (The bad ones I consider to be constructive criticism.)


	2. Chapter 2: The Goblin King

The door slammed shut making me jump and Sophie scream. Laughter was  
echoing from different parts of the room, scaring her even more. Lightning flashed and a big white owl started scratching at the lock on the window, trying to get in.  
"Sophie, stay behind me." I told her  
The owl burst in, causing the window to slam open. I held Sophie behind me protectively as a long shadow began to grow on the floor. Glitter flew threw the air as the owl transformed, turning into none other than the Goblin King himself.  
"Y...You're the Goblin King! Aren't you?" Sophie whispered, peeking over my shoulder.  
"Nah...It's the Easter Bunny." I rolled my eyes," Of course it's the Goblin King! You wished our brother away! Who else would it be!?"  
Jareth smirked and Sophie winced at my tone. I was furious that she'd been so careless. I sighed in frustration. We didn't have time for this nonsense.  
"Look, " I said, taking a step closer to him, "My sister was being really stupid. She didn't mean it. So will you please just give us back our brother?"  
Jareth looked at me for a moment, his mismatched eyes calculating. He then looked at Sophie and back to me, smirking again, "What's said is said. Now girls, go down stairs, watch your movies and play in your costumes. Forget the baby."  
I glared at him, then looked back at Sophie. She was stiff and her eyes were glazed over as if she were in a trance. I had no tolerance for goblin tricks.  
"Not a chance." I snarled.  
He arched an eyebrow at me and held out a crystal. It was much more beautiful than my glass orbs  
, and was definitely much more valuable. "But look, I've brought you a gift. It's just a crystal, but if you turn it this way and look into it, it will show you your dreams. If you want it, then forget abut the baby."  
I was horrified when Sophie actually started to reach for it. I smacked Her hand way and stood firm, "Not. Interested. If it was really a gift, we wouldn't have to do anything for it."  
"Cassandra." He warned and turned the crystal into a snake." Do not defy me."  
He threw the snake at me but I caught it and wrapped it around my neck, my green eyes locked on his. This seemed to catch him off guard because his eyes widened in surprise.  
"It's nothing about defiance. We just want our brother back." I said, throwing the snake back at him. It turned into a harmless scarf it moment it touched his armored chest and fell to the floor.  
"You have fire." He said. "I'll give you that."  
"Yeah, yeah, yeah, can we move this along?" I asked impatiently, "We want our brother back and she sucks at mazes so she won't be running the labyrinth."  
"You seem to be the one that wants him back." Jareth said, "So it is you who will face my labyrinth."  
"What?!" Sophie whined, "But I want to go too!"  
"No."I told her," Like I said, you suck at mazes. And riddles...And running for that matter. I'll go. Besides, someone needs to stay here in case Mom and Adam get home before I do."  
She muttered something under her breath but I knew she knew I was right. She was only twelve. She couldn't solve difficult mazes or riddles yet and she didn't exercise. If she went into the labyrinth, best case she wouldn't make it in time. Worst case she wouldn't make it at all. I was not about to risk losing another sibling to this guy.  
"Okay..."She grumbled, eaving the room,"But wait here a second."  
Jareth looked at me, confused and I just shrugged. I had no idea what she was doing. Sophie ran back in with a little red book in her hands. It had been Dad's before he died. She handed me the book and my leather purse. I put the purse on and tucked the book safely inside with whatever else she had put in in. At first glance, I could see my glass orbs, a poptart, a candy bar, and a bottle of water.  
"Good luck..."She whispered and I nodded, hugging her tightly.  
"If Mom and Adam get home first, tell them that Milo had been fussy so I took him for a walk."  
She nodded and pulled back. I turned back to the window to find myself outside on a hill, next to Jareth overlooking the infamous labyrinth.


	3. Chapter 3:Into the Labyrinth

The real labyrinth was much bigger than the movie made it seem, though I suspected the concept was the same. I'd have to make it through, solve the obstacles, and find Milo within thirteen hours, assuming Jareth decided to play fairly. I knew that I'd not only have to be smart bout this but I'd also have to watch my mouth even if Jareth wasn't necessarily around.

"Are you certain you want to do this, Cassandra?" I heard from behind me.

"I have too." I sighed, "And it's Cassy. Cassandra is my Grandma."

I turned to see Jareth behind me next to a big, thirteen hour clock. "You have 13 hours to..."

"Assuming you decide to be generous." I rolled my eyes. "Yeah. I know."

Waving, and turning around, I began to make my way down the hill toward the labyrinth in determination. I wouldn't lose. I couldn't let him beat me. As I reached the bottom near the outer wall, I glanced back toward the hill to find Jareth gone. I wasn't surprised. I had no doubt that he would do everything in his power to make me lose or give up. In the movie, Sara was relying mainly on dumb luck, even if she didn't realize it. I wanted to win because I was clever, not lucky, but I wouldn't complain if i was. I looked around hoping to see Hoggle, but he was no where to be found.

"So much for getting his help." I muttered.

I pulled the book out of my purse and began flipping through it. My father had made comments, hints, and notes in the margins of almost every page - everything from faery and goblin lore to help with riddles and problems. I just hoped something would help me get in. I searched through the book until I came across five little words he'd written above the picture of the gates.

"Don't take anything for granted."

I looked back up at the vine covered wall to see a large door had appeared. It swung open and I took a deep breath. No going back." I stepped into the labyrinth and the doors closed and vanished behind me. Just like in the movie, there where two directions that I could go. I choose the direction covered in glitter and began running, keeping my eye on the wall for the worm while trying to avoid the fallen logs and rocks. It seemed like the further that I went, the more glitter there was. When I stopped for a moment to rest, I came to a troubling realization. Sara had only gone so far before getting help. I hadn't run into anyone.

"Worm!" I heard a tiny voice calling "Worm!"

I looked down to see a pink worm crawling along the labyrinth floor. "Hello."

The worm looked up at me curiously, "Oh...'ello miss."

"Are you looking for someone?"

"Yes, Ma'am." She nodded. "Lil' unda one hour ago my 'usban suddenly disappeared."

"I see." I drew my mouth into a thin line. Somehow, I knew that this was Jareth's doing. "I'm looking for someone too. My baby brother. You wouldn't happen to know how to get to a castle would you?"

"Right across there and take a left."

"Thank you. Would you like to come with me? Maybe we can find your husband faster if we go together."

"Alright." she sighed. "I suppose that couldn't 'urt."

I picked her up gently an set her on my shoulder. Careful not to run into a wall, I went through the opening and went left. Gradually the labyrinth gained twists and turns. I ran through making decisions and talking with Mrs. Worm until we reached a dead end. Sighing, I had an idea about what was about to happen. Sure enough, when I turned back around, th path was closed off.

"Are you KIDDING ME?!" I yelled in frustration, looking around. We were completely boxed in, but unlike in the movie, the red and blue guards weren't here. I felt the walls, hoping that perhaps one was and optical illusion like before, but they were all very real.

"It's a labyrinth. It's not supposed to be easy." I heard a voice behind me.

I spun around quickly, making Mrs. Worm latch onto my clock earring to avoid falling off. I saw Jareth there, leaning against the wall, arms crossed with a a smug look on his face, looking at me with fake sympathy. It only added fuel to the fire.

"I never expected it to be." I huffed, glaring at him.

"You could always give up you know."

I shook my head. "No, I can't. Milo is only two. He needs mom and Adam to take care of him, not some goblin. I need to get him home."

"He's only your half brother."

"True, but he's still my brother." I realized that I was wasting time talking to him and he probably knew that. He was stalling me! "And nothing is gonna stop me from reaching him!"

"Except me, little one." Jareth smirked.

"You're a bad boy!" Mrs. Worm scolded him. I don't know if she realized who he was, but he didn't like that.

"Oh, shoo, you little pest." He waved his hand and her weight was gone from my shoulder.

"What did you do?!"

"Never mind that. You only have...ten hours left. I'd hurry."

I snarled at him and turned, finding a foot hold in the wall and began climbing.

"Ah, ah, ah. Cheating isn't very becoming of a lady." He scolded me mockingly, "I think you deserve to be punished"

The wall I was almost to the top of suddenly became slick and I fell, the ground that should have caught me turning into a deep hole which I fell into.

"Goodbye, my little dragoness." Jareth said and dissappeared as I fell.

I screamed as I fell, suddenly landing on a soft blanket. "Geez! Where is everyone?!"

The lack of helping hands was by far the most irritating so far. The room I was in was dark, save for the glow of a single candle. The walls were made of stone and were covered in cobwebs and glitter. One wall however, was covered in the helping hands. All of them. I looked around more to see the worms, both mr. and mrs. sitting near the base of the candle and a little man huddled in one corned.

"Um...excuse me?" I got up and walked over to him. He looked up and I saw a familiar face. "H...Hoggle?"

"Yeah. And WHO are you?" He asked gruffly.

"I'm Cassy. Would you mind helping me through the..."

"NO!" he shouted suddenly, "NEVER AGAIN! Last time we helped somebody through and now Jareth is sending anyone who helped down here! I'm cold, I'm hungry, and I'm not taking you anywhere! So forget about it!"

"Oh..." I sighed looking around. An Oubliette is not the best place to be when you've got a time limit.

I began digging through the purse. It was Soph's and Sophie always had candy. I pulled out a candy bar and showed it to Hoggle. "If you take me through I'll give you this."

Hoggle looked tempted, "What is that anyway?"

I pulled back the wrapper a bit and smiled, "Chocolate."

"Ooh!" He snatched the candy, "I'll take you as far as I can but not to the end."

"Fair enough. I wouldn't want you to get in trouble again," I turned to the worms, "Are you coming?"

"Yes miss, thank you." Mrs. Worm said and I put them both on my shoulder.

"It's nice to meet you by the way." I told Mr. Worm.

"Same here deary." He said with a smile.

I turned toward the helping hands and winced. "I'm sorry. I don't know how we'd take you with us."

They all moved together to make one giant face instead of bunch of little ones. "That's alright. Don't worry about us. His Majesty should let us out at the end."

"Ok..." I turned to Hoggle, "Then where are the others? Ludo, and Sir Didymus?"

"Not taken yet I suppose." He shrugged., "Don't know how we're gonna get out of here either. Jareth changed the exit." he got up to prove his point. He leaned the door against the wall and opened one side to reveal a broom closet. Then he closed it and opened the other side to reveal a mop closet.

"Did you try pushing it open?"

"Yes."

"Opening it from the top or bottom?"

"Yes."

"Opening it on another wall?"

"Yes."

"Opening it on the floor?"

"Yes."

"How about on the ceiling?"

"Ye..er...no... But how do you propose we get it up there?"

"Helping Hands?" I asked turning to them.

"Happy to be of service M'lady." a small face said.

We pulled the door over to them and they lifted up,holding it against the ceiling. They then allowed me to used them to get up, cheerleader style, so that I could open the door. A rope ladder fell out and our small group climbed out of the darkness.


	4. Chapter 4: Damn it Sophie!

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The ladder actually helped shave off a lot of time. We managed to bypass the tunnel and the corner faces all together, climbing out of a tile in the hedge maze part of the labyrinth.

"Well that was easy." I hummed in surprise, happy to be back in the warm sun.

"That rat, Jareth must be losing his touch." Hoggle chuckled.

"A rat, am I?"

Hoggle screamed and jumped behind my legs and the worms hid under my pony tail. I glared at Jareth who was making yett another appearnce.

"Breaking the rules again Hedgewart?"

"It's Hoggle." I glared at him.

"Nevermind that. Get out of here, you little toad." Hoggle yelped at Jareth's words and ran off into the labyrinth.

I sighed "What do you want now, Jareth?"

"I've brought you a gift. I should think you'd be thankful." he sneered.

"Who says I want any gift of yours?"

"I think you'll like this one."

He pointed toward a hedge and it created an opening, which Sophie ran out of gasping for breath.

"Sophie..."I growled at her. "What the Hell are you doing here?"

"You're dear little sister wished herself away."

"I...I wanted to help..." She huffed, "I made it this far..."

"With a great deal of help from me." Jareth informed her.

"What!?"

"Sophie...I'm gonna kill you when this is over." I seethed. She winced and smiled apologeticly and I sighed turning to Jareth, "What's the catch?"

"No catch..."He raised his hands in surrender before tapping his chin, "Though...now that I think about it, Hoggle hasn't been doing his job lately..."

As if on cue, a loud buzzing sound came from behind Jareth and a swarm of thousands of fairies flooded the Labyrinth. Soph screamed as they bit us and pulled at out clothes and hair.

"Come on!" I grabbed her hand ran, trying to stay a head of them. Along with the buzzing of their wings, I would here Jareth's laughter all around us. I wanted to avoid the area's where Ludo and Sir Didymus were because I didn't want them to suffer the same fate as Hoggle, the worms, and the helping hands, but it was hard to focus with the fairies chasing us. Before we realized it, we had left the hedge maze and were in the forest. I hated to think about how we'd missed the wiseman, his hat, and the knockers, but I had a pretty good idea of where they were.


	5. Chapter 5: An Unexpected Rescue

"Where's Hoggle...And Ludo and Didymus?" Sophie asked as we walked

"Jareth is imprisoning anyone we get too close to that would help us." I sighed. "Other things, obstacles are just being replaced."

"Aren't we in the Firey Forest now?"

"That's right girly." Mrs. Worm said, "Nasty creatures."

"We need to be careful. I'd really rather avoid them if we can."

We continued to walk through until Sophie tripped and fell face first down into a pile of leaves.

"Gah!" She cried out, "Stupid root."

I looked back to see short stockinged legs. "That's not a root." The legs were sticking out of a bush and shaking. Sighing, I grabbed Hoggle's ankles and pulled him out.

"Oh..Um...Hi Cassy." He looked at me, chocolate covering his mouth.

"You gave him my chocolate?" Sophie crossed her arms.

"I'll get you more later. Now why where you hiding, Hoggle?"

"Well, I came in here trying to get away from Jareth. I'm hiding because...Well...Sniff the air."

I enhaled deeply through my nose and a strange smell hit my nose and made it feel numb. It wasn't a bad smell, but it was very odd.

"What is that?" Sophie winced.

"The Fireys are close." Hoggle groaned. "That's the smell they let off when they switch parts. It's like a self inducing drug..."

I pursed my lips. Apparenty Jareth considered them an obstacle. "We need to avoid them if we can. We don't have time to sit around and wait for them to leave."

"Cas...I don't want to lose my head..." Sophie sighed.

"If Jareth keeps showing up we might anyway. I say we try to go around. That way we can..."

"Heeellllppppp!" A cry came from deeper in the forest.

Hoggle gave me a look. "No. Nuh uh."

I glared at him and went in the direction of the voice. If someone was in trouble and we didn't help, we'd be no better than Jareth. We walked through the dense trees until we came upon a clearing. Fireys were everywhere, but t was hard to tell how many there were exactly. Most were laughing and running and dancing around a fire, but one ran by our hiding spot, headless with the wiseman's bird hat being held on his shoulders.

"Heeeellllllpppppppp!" The hat screamed as the firey ran around.

I didn't see the wiseman anywhere, but that didn't matter at this point. I handed the worms to Sophie and stepped out of the trees long enough to trip the body. It tumbled and the hat fell off. I scooped it up and backed away from the body as it groped the ground in search.

"Heyyy!" One of them noticed me,"You can't steal his new head."

"Yeah! Get your own."

"Cassy!" Hoggle and Sophie ran out of the trees, more fireys following them.

"I'll trade you that foot for an ear."

The fireys were closing in on us. "Soph...Run!"

"Again!? Really!?" She whined, but didn't protest.

The five of us ran (well, Mr. and Mrs. Worm rode in a side pocket of Sophie's back pack) until we reached the rockwall.

"Cassy!" Sophie screamed as the Fireys got closer."

"Quickly!" I strapped the wiseman's hat to Sophie's bag so that he was sitting on top and ushered them and helped Hoggle up a tree and into the branches so that they could reach the top of the wall. I had just helped him get a foot up when I felt a tight grip on my arm. I flailed back sending a firey a few feet back toward the others.

"Come on lady! You owe him a head."

"It was never his in the first place." I pointed at him. I turned and started climbing, myself when I felt him grab onto y ankle. "Let. Go!"

All of a sudden, the sky got darker and a spiral of fire rained down and struck the firey's hand.

"YOWWW!" He screamed and jumped back. I didn't stop to question what had happened. I just climbed until I reached the top branch and jumped over to the ledge where Sophie and Hoggle helped pull me up.

"What was that, Miss?" Mr. Worm asked.

"I...I don't know." I panted, out of breath.

"Thank you very much, lady." The hat bowed.

I smiled at him. "You're very welcome. I'm Cassy, this is my sister, Sophie, our friend Hoggle, and Mr. and Mrs. Worm." I pointed at each in turn

"A pleasure."

"Where is the wiseman?" I asked.

"NO idea." The hat sighed. "We were walking through the woods when he just disappeared."

"Jareth..." I growled. "We need to keep going. Hoggle..."

"Yeah?"

"I'm sorry." I winced and kissed his brow. The floor went out from under us and we landed in the Bog of Eternal Stench.


	6. Chapter 6: Bog of stench & poison fruit

When we landed on the ground, the smell of the bog hit me like a ton of bricks. The putrid smell wafted through the stale air, suffocating us.

"Oh...My...GOD!" Hoggle gagged and covered his nose, "WHY?"

"We have to get through the labyrinth." I coughed, "Milo needs us."

"Luckily," Sophie said and took off her backpack, "I prepared for this!"

Careful not to disturb the worms or the hat, she dug around until she pulled out our old snow boots.

"Soph..." we used to use those boots every winter, hiking through the snow covered hills back home.

"It's ok...I figured we can't really use them anymore..." She gave me a small smile, "Milo is more important."

I smiled at her as we changed our shoes and put them in her bag. She was finally starting to get it. We got up and began our trek through the bog. When we came to the place where the stones where supposed to be, they were no where to be found. In they're place was an old fallen log.

"Ok. We need to go one at a time." I told them. "Otherwise we'll lose our balance."

I cautiously stepped up onto the log, feeling it wobble in the water under my weight.

"Careful, Lady..." The hat said, as i tried to find my balance.

"SHH!" Mr. Worm shushed him. "She needs tah concentrate."

I began slowly making my way across, carefully avoiding the wood that had been rotted by the water. When I reached the end, I jumped to land and let go of the breath I hadn't realized I'd been holding. Hoggle was next and he too made it across. When it was Sophie's turn, I immediately began to worry.

"Ok, Sophie, Nice and easy." I coaxed her as she began to cross. She wobbled half way, making me gasp. If she went in, they all would. She was almost across when her foot broke through the wood and the log began to move in the murky water.

"Cassy! I'm stuck!" She called out for me, starting to panic.

"Hang on Sophie." I started to walk toward her but Hoggle held me back. "Hoggle, let me go."

"Let me do it..." He mumbled. "You're the one who has to get to the castle. Go. We'll catch up."

"No. If we're getting to the end, we do it together." I broke out of his hold and looked around for a solution.

I spotted some vines and a tall tree that was hanging over the water. Running over to them, I pulled them down. "Mr. Worm? Do you think you could make it over to that tree and run these vines down to them?"

"Yes Ma'am!" He exclaimed and inched his way out oh the backpack pocket and across the fallen log to the shore. I gave him one end of the vine and set him as high up into the tree as I could reach.

"Careful, Worm..." Mrs. Worm warned him.

"Sure thing, love" He said as he reached a branch that was over them. Then to my surprise, he jumped down, using his own weight to bring the vine to them.

"Catch him, Hat! Hoggle, hold the log steady."

The hat caught the worm in his mouth and set them down on Sophie's took the end of the vine from him and set him back into the side pocket with Missus.

"Ok. Sophie, I want you to hang onto the vine _tightly._ I'm going to try to pull you out."

"You got it." She said, biting her lip. She twisted the rope around her arm and palm, holding on to the point that her knuckles turned white. "Ready!"

I nodded and began pulling back. I dug my heels into the dirt as her foot struggled to break out of the rotten wood. I pulled until I heard a loud cracking sound and looked to see her foot free of both log and boot. She slowly began to inch her way across the log, using the vine as a support. She stumbled at the end and landed on solid ground. I let go of the vine and ran over to her, hugging her tightly.

"Thank you...All of you..."She whispered as I helped her up.

"No trouble, deary." Mr. worm said.

I helped her over to a rock where we changed out of our old boots and back into our normal ones. Having made it through the bog, we were almost to the end, assuming Jareth hadn't changed anything else. We were walking through another forested area when I heard a low growling from our little caravan. I turned to see Sophie's face red in embarrassment.

"Hungry?" I asked her with a small smile.

"Yeah...Labyrinth time it's been hours since we've eaten anything."

"Anyone else?" Hoggle raised his hand and the worms and Hat nodded. "Ok...Snack break."

I pulled the pop tart out of the purse and opened the wrapper. I broke the two poptarts into four pieces. I gave the two bigger pieces to Sophie and hoggle, and two quarter pieces to the worms and the hat separately.

"What about you miss?" Missus asked me in concern, "Surely you must be hungry too."

"You guys are priority. I'll be fine." I promised and walked a head to try to spot the castle. If we where were I thought we where, than I should have been able to see it from the next hill. I saw it alright, but I also saw something that deeply concerned me.

The junkyard had been replaced with a hot geyser field. I could see the boiling water shooting up from cracks in the ground and knew that any of u could be seriously hurt if we got too close. I furrowed my brow an turned back toward our group. I couldn't risk their lives like that.

Hoggle was sitting a ways away from the group, looking down at something in his hands and I had a feeling I knew what it was. I walked over to him, kneeling by his hunched over form.

"Jareth asked you to give that to me didn't he?" I asked already knowing the answer.

"C...Cassy I..."He shot up and hid the peach behind his back.

"Hoggle...It's ok." I reached around and took the poisoned fruit from him. "I don't want you to get into trouble again...Just promise me something." He looked at me with a pained look on his face, "Lead Sophie and the others far away from the castle. Back to the beginning if you can. The only way to the goblin city is through that geyser field and I don't want any of you getting hurt. Tell them I went ahead. Tell them that I told you to lead them to me. Please, Hoggle."

"But, Cassy..."

"Promise me, Hoggle."

He nodded to me timidly and I took a deep breath. I sank my teeth into the poisoned peach and the world started to spin and go dark around me.


	7. Chapter 7: Strange Dreams

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When I could finally see again, I recognized the throne room of the castle. I was wearing a clenched waist blouse and long, black velvet flared pants. My long hair was down and I could tell that my makeup was gone. I looked around the throne room and I was all alone. I could faintly hear music of As the World Falls Down playing, but it was only the instrumental and I couldn't pin point where the faint melody was coming from.

"Hello?" I called out, with no answer.

I made my way over to a lone stairway and was about to go up when I heard a voice behind me. "Cassy." I turned to see Jareth reclined in his throne. "Come here, my dear." Cautiously, I walked back down the stairs and over to the throne. The Goblin King had a soft smile on his face as I got closer. He held out his hand to take mine in his. His grip was firm, but gentle and despite the gloves he wore, I could feel his warm touch.

"How are you, My Dragoness?" He asked, running his hands over a golden ring on my finger, "I've missed you."

"Missed me? I...I only saw you a few hours ago..."

"Far too long," He pouted and to my surprise, pulled me into his lap. "in my opinion."

"Jareth..." I put my hands on his chest and tried to get up but he held my waist with one arm and my back with the other, "P..Please let me go."

"If you can ask me again... _without_ stuttering this time." He smirked and kissed my neck making me blush. He held me tighter and moved so that his lips were only inches away from my own. I glanced down, not wanting to meet his strange eyes. "Please, my love, let me enjoy myself."

I didn't say a word. I could feel my heart beating in my chest and his beneath my finger tips. His hand moved from my back, to my neck, pulling me closer until out lips touched. My eyes closed automatically as i melted into his touch. A fire was burning in my stomach and I forgot the world as his lips moved with mine. I curled my fingers to grip his clothes. I was in perfect bliss and despite my earlier protests, I wanted to stay like that in his arms.

As the kiss grew more heated he moved to kiss below my ear and down my throat, nipping my skin gently as he went, stopping at the base of my neck, assaulting my collar bone with affection. I softly whimpered as he found a particularly sensitive spot, feeling him smirk against my skin in satisfaction at my response. I would have stayed for as long as he let me if i hadn't opened my eyes to see the clock hanging by the throne. The hour hand was just past the eleven and the minute hand was moving quickly.

I gasped, shooting up and moving way from him. He looked at me in with confusion written across his face, but looking into his eyes, I could see that he'd known exactly what he was doing.

"Cassy?" He said my name in surprise, reaching out for me again, but I backed further away from him.

I turned and ran back toward the stairwell. Looking out of the window at the landing, where I should have seen the Goblin city, I saw the reflective surface that was the inside of one of Jareth's crystals. Not having anything to break it with, I stepped up onto the stone window sill. Glancing back, I saw that Jareth had stood up from his throne and had a determined look on his face. Turning my back on him, I took a deep breath and covering my face with my arms, jumped out of the window, shattering the world that trapped me.


	8. Chapter 8: Waking up alone

I heard a hissing sound and felt an uncomfortable heat. I opened my eyes just long enough to see a geyser of boiling water and steam erupt right in front of my fast. I shot up and scrambled away from it. I looked around to see myself in the middle of the geyser field. Steam was seeping up out of cracks in the ground and the few trees that were here were all dead.

I couldn't focus. I could still feel Jareth's lips on mind and it was very distracting. Through the thick, hot air, I could just make out the Goblin city. I had less than two hours to get there and find Milo. I made my way through the field, the heat making it hard to breath. None the less, I knew I had to reach the castle. I felt my head pounding and my vision blur, but I couldn't waste anymore time. I...I had to reach Milo. I was almost to the gates when I felt my legs go weak and I dropped to my knees.

I gasped for breath, trying to get oxygen into my lungs. Suddenly, I felt my shoulder get tapped. Looking up, I saw two goblins with spears standing above me. One was pointing his spear at my throat and the other held a pair of shackles.

"His Majesty has demanded your presence at the palace. You can either come peacefully or we will have to use force." The one with the spear said.

Glaring at them, I held my wrists out in surrender. If Jareth wanted to escort me to the castle and that much closer to Milo, so be it. The shorter goblin put the shackles on my wrists and pulled me up. They turned to lead me toward the city, each keeping a grip on one of my elbows. They lead me through the Goblin City, the citizens coming out of their homes, watching with curiosity.

They took me through the castle, up to the throne room where Jareth sat, regal as always, with Milo fast asleep in his arms.

"What is the meaning of this?!" he demanded, waking my brother, "Why is she in shackles?!"

The goblins who'd brought me here cowered in fear, the one with the spears speaking up, "Y..you said you wanted us to bring you the girl, Y..Your Majesty."

"Oh never mind. Get those things off of her and get out of here!"

The other goblin shakily removed the chains and they ran out of the throne room. Jareth was cruel, but I had to hand it to him, he was effective.

"Milo..." I murmured and stalked over to the throne. "Give him to me, Jareth. Now."

"I wouldn't touch him if I were you. Unless you want your sister to be lost in the Labyrinth forever." Jareth said, making the goblins around us cackled and laughed.

"What do you mean?"

"You touch him, and you both go home. She'll have to find her way through, by herself."

The severity of the situation donned on me. Sophie had wished herself away. Since she couldn't run through the labyrinth and find herself, she wouldn't be able to go home. Milo and I would be sent back but she'd be stuck here in the Underground.

"What do you want, Jareth?" I demanded.

"What are you offering, Cassy?"

"..." I had to make up my mind right there, and I knew what I had to do. "Through dangers untold and hardships unnumbered I have fought my way here to the castle beyond the Goblin City to take back the child you have stolen, for my will is as strong as yours and my kingdom as great...But you have power over me." I sank to my knees.

Jareths eyes widened, "What..?"

"Send them home. I'll stay in their place."

"You'd stay here in the Underground...forever?"

"...Yes. Just send them home."

"Done." He smirked and Sophie and our group appeared before us.


	9. Chapter 9: Saying goodbye

"Cassy...What's going on?" Sophie asked, walking over to me.

"Soph. You and Milo are going home."

"But what about you?"

"Your sister has agreed to stay here in your place." Jareth rested his chin on his hand, bored.

I sighed, "Only one of you would b able to go home since there's no one to run the labyrinth to get you."

"This...This is all my fault." Sophie's eyes began tearing up.

"No, no, no, no." I hugged her. "It'll be ok. Get Milo. Tell Mom and Adam that I went ahead and moved into the dorms."

She nodded and wiped her eyes. Taking off her backpack, she walked over to Jareth and the minute she touched Milo, they both disappeared. I turned to the group and picking up the backpack, handed it to Hoggle, and knelt beside them.

"Hoggle, I want you to take Mr. and Mrs. Worm home. Then try to find the wiseman and get him back Hat."

"You got it, Cassy. And...Should you ever need us..."

"I'll call. Thank you...for everything."

He put on Sophie's bag and left, sparing me a glance as he left. I watched him leave, trying not to let my new situation get to me. I heard slow footsteps behind me.

"Leave us." Jareth ordered and all of the goblins left, some glaring at me for interuppting their fun. When we were alone, Jareth walked up behind me. He brushed his fingers across my skin of my shoulder, moving my ponytail. "I'll make sure that you're...comfortable here. May I escort you to your room?" He extended his arm to me, a pleasant smile. I sighed and took his arm, letting him lead me through the castle.


	10. Chapter 10: Life in the Labyrinth

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Life in the labyrinth wasn't as hard to adjust to as I thought it would be. Jareth provided me with a room in the castle, plenty of clothes, jewelry, and freedom to explore the labyrinth. I could go wherever I wanted, as long as I didn't go past the outer wall of the maze. My room overlooked the labyrinth, giving me a view of the land beyond. Every night, I ate dinner alone. I was told that Jareth had kingly duties to attend to, but it didn't make it any less lonely. I was getting used to the goblins, but they weren't amazing conversationalists.

Each night, I could see Jareth walking through the castle gardens and despite hating myself for it, I could help but wonder what it would be like to have him kiss me for real. To have him hold me like he did in my dream. It was irritating me to no end. He kidnapped my siblings. He made my journey through the labyrinth much more difficult than it needed it to be. He poisoned me, imprisoned me, and made the residents of the labyrinth's lives Hell. So, why then, was it that I couldn't get him out of my head?

It seemed that wherever I was, he wasn't and likewise, wherever I wasn't he was. In daily life I was content here, but I would go crazy if I didn't talk to someone semi- human soon. It was on a clear night when I finally decided to lose my patience. I waited until I saw him in the gardens that night and called down to him.

"Jareth! Can I talk to you, please!"

He looked up at me, his mismatched eyes meeting my green ones. His human form faded away and as an owl, he flew up and landed on my window sill. He didn't change back, just stood there...looking at me...waiting...

"Damn it, Jareth. If you're not even going to talk to me, send me home." I sighed crossing my arms. "Why am I even here?"

He tilted his head and changed back into his usual goblin king self. He stood on the floor and leaned back against the window. "Because you took your sister's place. That was your decision."

"Yes, but I didn't expect social isolation."

"I promised I'd make you comfortable here."

"Well I'm not comfortable." I rolled my eyes. "Look...We're stuck with each other so we can at least try to be civil?"

"If it would make you happy..." he he took my hand and kissed my palm. Immediately, I was reminded of the dream and a hot blush crept to my face.

Looking away from him, I crossed my arms, "It would." I'd be damned if I let him see the affect he had on me.

"Then if it would please you, I'll eat with you tomorrow night."

"Alright. I'll hold you too that."

Jareth smirked and and turning back into an owl, flew away. I watched as his feathered form disappeared. I knew that I was taking a big risk by trusting him but i didn't know who else to turn to. Hoggle had gone back to his job spraying fairies outside the wall so I didn't get to talk to him as often as I would have liked. I'd visited Mr. and Mrs. Worm a few times but since they lived on the far wall of the labyrinth, it was a long trip both ways. As for the Hat,he'd been returned to the wiseman and they moved through the labyrinth and Underground, providing wisdom...for a small fee of course.

If Jareth was the only constant companion I'd have here, then I would gladly make an effort to get along with him. Now that Sophie and Milo were home, we had no reason to be at each other's throats. And despite my better judgement, Jareth was still one of my favorite characters from the movie. It was this kind of thinking and the simple decision to trust the goblin king that would forever change my life in the Underground, but I didn't know that yet. Looking back, it was probably the best decision I could have made.


	11. Chapter 11: Dinner with the Goblin King

The next night, Jareth had dinner with me, as promised. I wore a white, red, and black dress, and a silver circlet, leaving my hair down. I found that all clocks in the labyrinth had thirteen hours, including the one in my room. He picked me up at exactly the eighth hour and led me down to the dinning hall. While it was usually loud with all of the goblins fighting over food, tonight, it was empty.

He escorted me to the seat to his right at the head of the table and pulled out my chair as I sat down. I suppose that even the goblin king, is still a king. He sat down next to me and to my surprise and delight a Papa John's Pizza, bread sticks, and a variety of sodas appeared on the table before us.

"I'm...told that this is common food in the Aboveground." he searched my face for approval.

I smiled brightly. Goblin food was good, but it was strange for me. This gave me the familiarity of home. "Definitely. I can't count the number of times Soph and I would order a pizza and watch movies all night long. " I opened the box and pulled out two of the slices and three bread sticks.

Jareth cautiously picked up a piece and, after i showed him how to hold it, took a curious first bite.

"What do you think?" I asked.

"So many different tastes and textures at once...I like it." He gave me a small smile.

"Mhm. And this is just cheese pizza. There's all sorts of toppings you can get put on it."

"We'll have to sample them some time."

"I look forward to it."

We continued eating, Jareth asking me questions about home, and me answering them to the best of my ability. I was trying to explain the concept of video games to him when he suddenly stood. "Finished eating?"

"Yes. Thank you." I stood, expecting to go back to my room.

"I have one more surprise for you." He produced a round crystal in his hand, like the one he'd offered Sophie. I eyed the crystal warily, not knowing what exactly he wanted. "Take the crystal, Cassy."

I gently took the crystal from his hand and the world and Jareth changed around me. His clothes changed into formal ones, and my simple dress changed into a shimmering silver gown. We were in a ball room, like the one Sarah had been in in the movie, but this one was less chaotic, and no one was wearing a mask.

"May I have this dance, My Lady?" he asked, bowing and extending his hand to me.

"I could never say no to the king." I took his hand and let him pull me close, leading me to dance with the other people. We danced the night away, until the clock on the wall struck the eleventh hour and I began to get tired. When I told Jareth this, the dream world faded away and we were back in the dinning hall of the goblin castle in our normal clothes.

As he escorted me back to my room, I thought about how being close to him in my latest dream world reminded me of the first one. The dancing had been fun, but I couldn't help but feel disappointed at the innocence of it. This time, I'd definitely been with Jareth. It made me wonder if the first dream had been simply that. A dream brought on by the poisoned peach. By the time we reached my 1room, the curiosity was killing me.

"Goodnight, Cassy. I'll see you tomorrow." Jareth said when we reached my door. I quickly reached forward and grabbed his sleeve as he began to walk away. He turned back to me, a curious look on his face, "Was there something else you needed?"

"Um...Yes. I just wanted to say thank you. I really had fun tonight."

"Oh...You're welcome."

"Goodnight." I swallowed my pride and standing on my toes, pressed my lips against his own, though only for a moment before I realized what I was doing and stepped away from him. "I'm sorry...I..." Not another word left my mouth because Jareth had pulled me back into his embrace.

This quickly became a nightly ritual for us. Every night at the eighth hour, Jareth and I would eat together, then either dance in a crystal generated dream, or we'd stroll through the labyrinth, ending the night with a kiss or two when he brought me back to my room. As this continued, I began to lose track of exactly how long I'd been in the Underground. Nothing ever seemed to change here, not the weather, nor the seasons, nor me for that matter. What I did know was that the more time I spent with Jareth, the more I was falling for him and I was falling _hard._


	12. A Living Fairy Tale

One night was different than all of the others. Jareth had sent me a beautiful black and blue ball gown with silver patterns, silver heels and a silver clasp to pin up my hair. I found it odd since he'd never done it before, but I wore the beautiful clothes none the less. At the eighth hour, Jareth as always, picked me up at my room. He too was dressed in formal clothing. Instead of leading me toward the the dinning hall, he took me out of the giant doors of the castle. "Where are we going?"

"It's a surprise." he smiled and lead me through the Goblin City, past where the geyser field had once been, and into the forest. He lead me to a clearing in the woods where ruins littered the area. The clearing was filled with fairy lights and candles. The on the edge of the clearing was a long table covered with food, and long shimmering drapes were hung in the tree limbs. People who I'd met in my first journey through the labyrinth as well as many people I did not know who definitely didn't look like goblins.

"Jareth, what's all of this for?"

"It's been a year since you've come to live with us in the Underground. We wanted to celebrate."

I looked at him in surprise. I hadn't realized that it had been that long. It had been a year since I'd seen Sophie, Milo, or Mom... Strangely, I missed them, but i wasn't as sad about it as I thought I should have. I was happy here in the Underground with Jareth. I leaned up and kissed his cheek with a smile, "Thanks... I didn't know it had been that long."

"May I have this dance?" he offered his hand to me and I took it as I had most nights. He led me to the middle of the clearing, and music from an unknown source began to play. Soon, other couples, joined us, spinning through the steps of a fae dance that i didn't know the name of. I let Jareth lead me through the steps as I enjoyed the warmth I always felt when I danced with him. I watched as his eyes flashed and bright lights began to float, around the clearing, casting a soft glow.

"Cassy..." He said softly as the song began to wind down, "Are you happy here?"

"Yes." I smiled at him, slowing to a halt with the song's end.

"Would you me willing to consider becoming my consort?" The other people turned to look, when he asked me that.

My eyes widened, my mouth forming a small 'o', "As in...your wife?"

"Yes." He stroked my cheek gently. "I love you, my dragoness."

I then saw the goblin king do something, I'd never seen him do. He fell to his knees at my feet and pressed a silver ring into my hand. "Please. I move the stars for no one except for you."

I smiled softly at him, kneeling down so that I was at his level. I hugged him, whispering into his ear, "You have great power over me."

He stood, picking me up by my waist and spinning me around, with a big smile on his face. I slipped the intricate silver ring onto my finger and wrapped my arms around his next and though the people around us cheered and clapped, In that moment he and I were the only two people in the world.


End file.
